At the start of this week, I went to the office to work on Monday, but I stayed home most of the week apart from going there. My cold has been getting better, but I woke up in a lot of pain on Sunday.
Monday, 15th January.
I woke up on the sofa in my lounge around 7:45 am. I got myself a coffee, took my tablets, and updated last week's blog page before getting cereal and another coffee. At around 11:30 am, I got on my disability scooter and went to Tecnyshop to pick up the slippers I had ordered on Amazon.
After collecting my slippers, I went to the office to meet Martin. We were joined by Dave and sat talking until around 3 pm. I went to the Mercadona superstore to get some bread when I left. Whilst there, I got myself a burger from the deli counter sat inside the shop and ate it before leaving. I stopped at La Petit Bistro to see my friend Alan, who was calling bingo there. I arrived in time to participate in the flyer at the end of the bingo session but I didn't win anything. When Alan finished, he joined me and we sat talking and had a beer or two.
I left the bar and went straight home. When I got home, there was a parcel outside my apartment door. Judging by the size of it, I assumed it was a new computer chair I had ordered. It wasn't due to be delivered until next week, but at least I have it. I took it inside and left it boxed up, ready to unpack and assemble tomorrow. I checked the slippers I had picked up, and they fit fine. They will keep my feet warm on the cold stone floors in my apartment.
My knee hurt quite a lot when I got home, but my ankle felt and looked a bit better today. I got myself a coffee and a painkiller and settled on the sofa to watch some TV. At about 7 pm, I made a sandwich, put the heating on, and settled on the couch again.
Tuesday, 16th January.
I must have fallen asleep on the sofa again last night. I woke around 4:30 am, used the bathroom and went back to sleep on the couch. When I woke at 7:30 am, I got a coffee and unpacked my new computer chair. I put it together and was very happy with it. The one I did have had a fault and needed a new part as it wouldn't stay at the higher level. It is still a good chair but won't stay high enough for me to use comfortably.
I did some work on my website and stopped for something to eat at around 2 pm. I cooked myself some chicken and had it with mashed potato. To wash it down, I had a coffee with condensed milk and added the contents of a chocolate orange drink I had bought in Brazil. The capsules don't fit my coffee machine, so I poured the contents into my regular coffee. It tasted lovely, and I was glad I hadn't just thrown the capsules away.
This afternoon, I found some training videos for me to watch to help with a video editing package I bought myself last week. I watched some television and had an early night, going to bed at around 10:30 pm.
Wednesday, 17th January.
I woke up at around 7 am, got myself a coffee and sat at my computer to watch some of the training videos I found yesterday. I lost track of time until my friend Kate told me she was on her way. Kate arrived at 11 am, and I let her in. I scanned some documents for her and transferred them to PDF so she could email them. She also collected my older air fryer that I had given to her and Martin.
As Kate was sitting chatting with me, my front door security system sounded, and when I looked on the video screen, it was Amazon delivering my new air fryer. I opened the door and took the delivery, and as I took delivery of the new one, Kate left with the old one. I unpacked the latest air fryer and placed it in the kitchen. I had a little reorganization of the kitchen and then went to get some shopping.
I went to the Economycash superstore on my disability scooter. I got my shopping and went straight home to get myself some lunch. After lunch, I watched a couple of training videos online and then attempted to make a new video for my website. It was hard to get used to the latest software but I persisted. It was 8:15 pm before I stopped and turned the computer off.
I watched some TV until I went to bed at around 10:30 pm.
Thursday, 18th January.
I woke up at 6 am today. I felt good, so I got up, got myself a coffee, and took my tablets before checking for messages online. After reading my messages, I logged in to the administration of my website and continued to add descriptions to some of the photos in my Brazil holiday photo albums.
I spent all morning working on my website and stopped at about 2 pm to get a sandwich for lunch. After lunch, I continued working on my website until around 5 pm when I had a call from my sister Karen, and we had a good chat. We haven't spoken for a while and it was great to catch up again. After talking to my sister, I got myself a pizza for my tea and worked on my website until 8:15 pm.
After I stopped working on my website, I put on my pyjamas and sat on the sofa to watch TV before going to bed at about 11 pm.
Friday, 19th January.
I didn't sleep well last night, I woke up at 12:30 am, 3:30 am, 5:45 am and then again when my alarm went off at 7:45 am. I finally dragged myself out of bed and went to make a coffee. Then I made a terrible discovery: I had run out of coffee. I got myself a ginger lemon tea, but it didn't have the same instant effect as the coffee.
I worked on my website till around 10 am and then got on my disability scooter to go to the Mercadona store to get some coffee. On the way to the store, I dropped all my paper and cardboard in the recycling bin. After I had finished shopping, I realised that my friend Mike would be having coffee at the cafe near him, at the Oasis in Los Narejos. I continued to the cafe and saw him there with other friends. After having my coffee, his friends asked me to show him the way to Mercadona so he could do his shopping there.
We formed a convoy of two disability scooters, and I led him to the store. It took longer than expected as Mike wouldn't turn his speed above snail's pace. I slowed down, showed him the easiest route, and took him to the front door. I told him that he could go inside on his disability scooter to get his shopping but he wouldn't go in. He asked me for directions to Consum, where he usually goes. He had complained all the way to Mercadona about the prices in Consum but now wouldn't go anywhere else. I told him Consum was just along the road, pointed it out, and headed home. As the old saying says, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink¨. In Mike's case, the saying would be, ¨You can lead a grumpy old man to a cheaper store, but he will still moan and return to the other store¨.
When I got home, I got myself a coffee and sat at my computer to work on my website. It was supposed to get colder this weekend, and I didn't expect to go much further than my bedroom, kitchen and lounge for a few days. I sat working on my website and added ALT tags to the photos in my photo albums and added descriptions to some of those that didn't have them.
There wasn't much on TV tonight, so I went to bed at 10:30 pm.
Saturday, 20th January.
I got up when my alarm went off at 6:45 am today. I got a coffee and sat down to work on my website for a few hours. At 9 am, I took a break from work and got myself some breakfast, a home-cooked full English breakfast. After breakfast, I sat back down at my computer and worked on my website until 1:30 pm, when I stopped working to watch the Arsenal vs Crystal Palace football match on TV.
This morning, I had predicted that Odeggard would score in the fourth minute of the game and that Arsenal would win 6-0. In the game's fourth minute, Martin Odeggard swung at the ball in the Crystal Palace penalty area and fired his shot against the defender. Arsenal played well in the first half and led at halftime 2-0. They continued to play well in the second half, and when the game finished, they had won 5-0. If Martin Odeggard had scored his attempt in the fourth minute, my prediction would have been spot on.
The temperature hadn't warmed up much, so I put my heating on before continuing to work on my website. After another couple of hours of work, my eyes were sore, so I stopped working and sat on the sofa watching TV. I kept dosing off as I watched TV, and unable to keep my eyes open anymore, I went to bed at 10 pm.
Sunday, 21st January.
I woke up this morning at 7 am and got up to get a coffee. Both my feet were in a lot of pain. They hurt even when I am sat down and am not putting any weight on them. The right one hurts the most, and it feels like the damaged ligament may finally have broken loose from what is left of my ankle. The left ankle feels similar, and I wonder if ankles can have sympathy pains.
After indexing some pages on Google this morning, I got another coffee, this one with chocolate in it. My ankles still hurt a lot, and I have to take a couple of painkillers. I hoped they worked quickly as I intended to cook a chilly con carne today. It will be difficult if I am in more pain than usual. I can sit on a chair in the kitchen, but it takes up a lot of room and gets in the way.
The painkillers I took knocked me out, and I fell asleep on the sofa for a couple of hours. When I woke up, I felt a bit better and managed to sit on a chair in the kitchen and cook myself a chilli con carne. I say I cooked a chilli con carne, but it wasn't as I had forgotten I didn't have one main ingredient, the chilly powder. I put it in the slow cooker and let it cook all evening, trying it at about 9 pm. It tasted great, and I will use it for pie fillings.
I took another painkiller before going to bed at 10 pm.